KALAMAZOO, MI – Congressman Fred Upton is renewing his call to repeal the 2.3 percent excise tax on U.S. medical device sales that took effect in January as part of the Affordable Care Act.

Upton – a cosponsor of the bipartisan Protect Medical Innovation Act (H.R. 523) to repeal the medical device tax – reintroduced the bill to the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday. Similar legislation to repeal the device tax passed the House last summer by a bipartisan vote of 270 to 146, but was never considered by the Senate.

Upton points to layoffs at Stryker Corp. as an example of how the tax is harmful to the economy.

Previous estimates say the tax could cost the industry about $20 billion over 10 years, but a release from Upton’s office said the “nearly $30 billion tax and has already resulted in employee layoffs.”

“Only a month since its implementation and we have already witnessed the devastating impact that this harmful new tax is having on manufacturing jobs and innovation here in Michigan and around the country,” Upton said. “These are dollars that could be better spent on creating local jobs and making critical investments in life-saving technologies. The President has promised to do whatever it takes to move our economy forward and protect struggling middle class families. Repealing the device tax would be a good step in that direction.”